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-1/y //«n( of the Silver For.

MY IIl'NT OF TIIE StI.VER POX.

[June,

Sabi.e and ermine are a^sciat^-d in our minds with rank aii<l wealth, and at the inentiua of tliem. iiii.iges of dii(!ie>ses -."mI i»riiice.-!»ei*. of jiidfresatid kinfrs clothed in the robes of di:.'nity or royalty, at onto rise u]* iiefore u-. Hut tiie use of furs as an article of dress is not confined to the noble and rich c-f civilised countries. The Indian wears his sables as well as the dclicat.* lady ; and biirt'alo-skins form the robes of the Mivage as well as the rugs of English carriages or Canadian ^leigh-. The soft rich velvet skin of tlie sea-otter adorns the iHrs/in of the native of the Xortli Pacific as well iLs the cloak of the Chinese mandarin : :ii)d the delicate white eftiiine. With black-tijilied taii. is the ch<iictst ornament of the Idack- foot w.'irrior of the American prairies as well .'1- the syn:bol of royalty and dignity in this country. The wear- ing of skins seems, indeed, to In.- a mark ofeicli extreme of the human race — the most jirimitive and the ml'^t civilised. Nature has su|»- jilied the animals of northern cli- mates with coats of uneijualied tjualiiy tor keeping out the coM and eijdurinft wear: and these admir- able jiroperties, and the fact of the material being ready made, no doubt induced our s.ivage forefathers, and their contemporaries, in the first iiistar.ce, to traii-fer ?ucli useful coverings from th., bodies of the inferi' r creation to their own. IJiit tills is not the only cause of the almost universjil love for furs. Tliere is a handsome appeamnce about soft glossy fur of tlie finest kind, which is very strikimr. and which has caused it to be valued as .•in article of ornament alone. It m.'iy be questioned whether the 1 idies who roll along in tieir c.ir- riages wrapped in seal-skin and ."•ibks do not regard the beauty of their clothing quite- as much as its property i,f warmth : .and it is the

combination of usefulness with a handsome appearance which makes them jirize it so highly. The man- darin, however, wears tlio fur of the sea-otter — nearly the whole sujiply of whicii ho monopolises — i)urely for the sake of ornament. The IJlackfoot chief prizes the tiny er- mine-skin as a garniture for his liead, or a trinuning for his fire- bag or his medicine-belt. The same fur is esteemed by Christian princes as an emblem ot' dignity and regal power. It was borne alone on the coats-of-arms of the ancient earls of Krittany; and in Knglaiid, in tin time of" Edward II., none but mem- bers of the royal family were permit- ted to wear it. I abo, in my humble way. have a great fancy for furs. I have felt their value in the bitter cold of the far nortii, and admire them too for their ricli and beauti- ful appearance.

A year or tw J ago, another Eng- lishman and myself spent a win- ter in the wilds of the lluds^m I5ay Territories, tlie liuport's Land of the missionaries an<l old geo- graphers, and there 1 learnt a great deal about furs and fur-hunting. For these Territories, togetiier with IlussianAmerica and Siberia, supply the whole world with furs of nearly every kind, the chinchilla of Houth Ameri<'a beintr the only im|iortant exception. Hence come sable (the fur of the marten) and a little ermine, although neither of these are quite equal in quality to tho IJussian varieties, and also the beaver, tho mink, tho lynx, tho fisher, the otter, tho black bear, tho sea-otter, and tho cross and silver foxes. The seii-otter and silver fox, although less known than sable and ermine, are the most valuable of all furs, !i single skin of cadi being sometimes worth £40. The sea- otte-r is only found on the North Pacific coast, and has now become exceedingly scarce. The few which

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1867.]

My Hunt of the Silver Fox.

689

are taken arc boiij^lit by tlio Itiissian nierchaiits for tlic Cliiiietic miirAOt. The lur is very dose, and liemiti- fully soft and velvety, like that of a mole, but liin;^cr, and in colour a rich l>ro\vn .«li;,'litly tinged wiliigrey. For the softness, sinoothnods, and closenesg of its pile it is perhaps un- equalled. The silver fox is finind all through the forests of the north- ern part of the Hudson Hay Terri- tories. The greatest number of tlieir skins go to Russia, where tl.ey arc esteotned the choicest of all furs, tit Wear for grand-duchesses and princesses. The coat of the silver fox is not of a gli-'tening white, like that of tiie Arctic fox, as might bo iinairined from tiio name, but is more marly black. The fur is more valuable in proportion to the darkness of its colour, althongli it is iie^^er (jnito black even in the finest specimens, but a beautiful grey. The white hairs, which pre- dominate, are tipped with bbick, and miscil with others of pure biack. This admi.xture of pure white ^ind black gives a peculiarly silvery or frosted appearance to the coat of this king of the furry tribe, which is more delicite in proportion to the amount of black it contains, and with the softness and tineness of the hair would (lause its rich quality to be recognised at once by the most superficial observer.

I have described the true silver fox only, which seems very distinct from the common red fox. and yet foxes of every variety of colour be- tween tlK?-e extreines are found. These are called cross foxes, from their being marked along tiie back by a band of .-ilver grey, with an- other tivi.T the shoulders, at ri;^lit angles, in the sliai)e of a cross, like the stripe of a donkey. Tlic stripes may be slight, and the fox closely resemble the red one, or broad and distinct, so as to occuj y the princi- pal part of the skin, when it more nearly approaches the silver fox both in ajjpearance and value. There are two other distinctions between the red, the cross, and tho

silver fo.x — that of size, and tho localities which they inhabit. Tho red fox is much larger than his English representative, which, how- ever, he closely resembles iii other respects. Jle freijuents the prairies and the park-like country which lies between the great plains to the south of Rupert's Land and tho vast forests of the north. The sil- ver fox is much smaller than the red one, and is fontul oidy in tho thick wou<ls or their immediate neighbourhood. The cross foxes vary in size as in colour, and fre- quent the country between the two extremes, being found on the edge of tho woods and the borders of tho jdains also — those nearest the habi- tat of the red fox of the jirairies being larger and lighter-coloured, those of the woods where dwells the silver fox darker and smaller. At tho close of autumn, when the animals have ilonned their winter coats, and fur is in full season, every Indian and half-breed in this wooded country turns trapper: for it is their time of liarvo>t, and on their su<Te>s in obtaining skins with which to trade depend their sup[)lio8 of ammunition and all comforts and luxtiries, such as tea, tobacco, and blankets. I deter- mined to follow the fashion of tho country, and invade the homo of the sable and tlie silver fox, gathering what spoils I coiiUl for my fair relations and friends at home; and if 1 caught a silver fox — [t\ I said to myself, I shoulil have such luck, for a fox is not easily circumvented — well, vulpi- cide is a sin in Leicesfersliiro, but a virtue in Rupert's I.aiul; and there was t)ne, I ibougbt, who de- served the prize, and would, I half believed, be jiroud to wear a gift of mine, which, if all went well, might perhaps recall how long days of weary absence had been succeed- ed by a hap|)ier time.

Established, then, in a I'ttlo log- hut, with my friend and t*ro half- broods, on the southern border of tlio great forests of the north of

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Pacific N.W.Hir/^r-Dept.

PROVINCIAL. L-kQRARY VICTORIA, B. C.

600

My Uitnt of the SiUer Fox.

[Juno,

Rupert's Lan<l, I foiiimeiiooil my jonriK'ys iiiti) tlio woods. Ah my compiiuiou mid instructor in tlio nrt of trapping, I took ono of the men wo lind engiif,'ed, a French- Cnn.idiiin Iiiilf-broed, by luinio Louis Ifi IJondo, or De in Hondo, as lio dt'liirlited to "-ign his name — a iiotod liuntcr of the fur animalf. Uy tliis time it was tlio hegiiining of Xo- vcmher. The ground was covered witii a sliglit coating of huow, and tiio cold very considerable, although not to 1)0 compared in severity with that which wo afterwards experi- enced in mid-winter. The only provisions wo tooiv with us on our expeditions consisted of a little drieil meat or ])eniniican. which wo roiled up in a couple of blankets, together with a few steel traps, and slung the pack thus made upon our backs. A sm;ill nxe and a gnu apiece completed our eqnipiiK-nt, and wo started into the woods for an excursion of six or eiglit days, marching straight towards tiie north for thirty or forty miles. ^Ve set traps at intervals along the route wherever we observed the tracks of the anitnals we sought, retiirning homo again when our ]irovi.-ions were exhausted. At night wo slept in tiie open air, clearing away tho snow, and strewing a few i)ine- branclies on the bare ground for a bed, on which we lay wra])pod in our blankets, with a huge fire of great dry trunks blazing at our feet. Our stock of food was froipiently finished long the hut, and

to eat tho bodies of the animai.s which wo killed for their skins. The marten, fisher, and mink, which were our principal objects of ])ur- suit at first, are all of the pole- cat tribe, and as the taste of their fiesh exactly corrcsj)onds with t!io odour of their bodies — and this is very similar to tlio disgusting smell of tho ferret — it may be ima- gined that sharp-set ajipetites were uoo<led to enable us to face such nau- seous fare. These we never lacked, however, for liard work and severe

before wo regained we were compelled

cold begot the mo-t sav.ige hunger; and we grumbled not at our condi- tion, for we were in robust health, and I enjoyed keenly the excite- ment >f the novel pursuit, which La hondo followed with tho ut- most ardour. At first we contented ourselves witli the capture of tho less imjtortant animnU 1 have men- tioned, allhougli the marten, or sable, and the fisher, whose skins are worth about a guinea apiece, can hardly be deemed "ery humble game. They were tolerably plenti- ful, ami entered readily into tho traps — >iinple woo<len contrivances on the jilan of a figure-of-4 trap e.i!led a " deadfall.*' This is a small enclosure of short |)alisade9 covered in at the top, an oi)ening being lett at one end. Above tho entrance a lieavy log is proi)i)ed up, so arrau'.'ed that when an animal seizes the bait t!ie log falls ujion it and crushes it to death. Occasion- ally we shot a frozen-out otter tra- velling along the banks of a Btream, or caught musk-rats by placing steel traps in their winter Jiuts on the ice- bound lakes, c. snared a lynx with a no'se of d;er-skin, which that simple animal never attempted to gnaw through, but remained lialf-stran- gled and helpless until wo arrived to des[)atcli him. Our success with the wooden traps was seriotisly in- terfere<l with by the depredation.s of the wolverine and the ermine. Tho latter merely devoured tho baits, an<l sprang the traps without injury to himself — since his small size permitted him to enter the enclosure with his entire body safe from the fall of the fatal tree at tho door. The former, however, gave us far m(jro trouble, and inflicted far greater li>-s. lie sumotimes destroyed the whole of a long lino of traps, often one hundred to one hundred and fifty in num- ber, as often as they were rebuilt and robaited. His ravages inflict such loss upon the Indian hunters, that they havf name<l him tho Evil One. IJut in spite of these enemies wo managed to amass a goodly store

18G7.]

My Hunt of the Siher Fox.

691

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of furs, and I daily nttained {.rrcntor skill ill my mnv ruljiti^r. I Jmil, liowcvcr, iiindo up my mind to liave 11 silver fox if possiMe, iiiid was enper to find an opjKirtunity of se- curin;; tbe jjrcntest prize of the ftir- linnter. Wc met with several tra< k», wliicli were pronounced l>y I.a lioiKle to bo tliose of fine cross foxes. The only way in which the ])re.sence of aninia's can he a-ci-r- taiiied in these wilds is l)y their fmtprintM in tiie snow, which lies ft field of vir{,'in white, wiiereon these tell-tale marks are printed. Tho animals which mriki; them are rarely seen, for they are so con- stantly hunted by the Indians, and fts-iociate tho ai)proach of man oidy with dan<rer and pursuit, that they take alarm ot the sliglitest soumJ, and inimediMtely liide themselves from view. 'I'lio so-called wild ani- mals of civilised Countries arc a"- cnsfoined to meet witli men who aro not intent on their destruction, and tlius we see rabbits playing al)out in the fields, and even foxes forget ill their six montlis' holiday tho constant dangers of the }iuntin;| season. Hut it is far dif!c*rent in the trappinjr-firounds of North America, wliere gaino must lie tracked up before it can be found. Tho eye of the practised hunter reads without ditticulty tho signs loft in tlie snow. He deiccts at once, with tho most astonishing ac- curacy, the species of animal which has passed, whether it had been frightened by Ids ap]troacli. the jiaco at whicli it A'as (^oinir. and liow long before or how recently it had visited the place. At first sight it apjiears extremely difiiciilt to the uninitiated to distinguish between the footprints of a fox and those of a small wolf, or a dog of similar size. Hut to tlie Indian or half- brood lliis is simple enough. The dog blunders along through the snow with low action of his legs, and scrapes the surface with his toes as he lifts them forward in his .stride, thus leaving a broad groove in front of tho footprint,

and porbapt the mark of bis tail carelessly dragging behind liim. The little wolf, also, generally catches the jioiiit of the toe, but le-^s roughly than tho dog, leaving merely a slight scratch on the sur- face. But the dainty fox, stepping with airy tread and high clean ac- tion, clears the snow ])ert'ectly in his stride, however deep it may be, and leaves no mark what- ever, exce|)t the seal cd' his foot sharjdy linod and clearly iiiipressod upon the white carpet. To distin- guish the footprint of a silver fox from th;it of a cross fox or a red one is more ditficult. The only tlitference between them is in size, and this is so sliglit that it re- quires much experioiHH' to attain any certainty in detecting it.

Now although, as I have said, I was exceedingly anxious to I't- tempt the capture of the i)rize I coveted so much immediately, my eagerness was reprc-^sed by I.a lionde, who argued that it was usebss to set any trap for a I'ox until the frost became more severe, whereby tho hunger of our destined prey would becomo more keen, and the .scent of tho human lingers which had touched tho bait would bo dei^troyed by the intense cold. The fox is tho most sagacious and wary of all tho fur animals except the wolverine, and is never taken in a deadfall. A steel trap or poisoned bait aro tho only devices which have any chance of success with such a knowing fellow. And in setting these it is necessary to ob- literate all traces of man's presence by smoothing the snow evenly around for some distance; and then in course of time tho action of tho wind, or a fresh fall of snow, de- stroys every footmark, and the bait lies buried as if it had falb'ti from the skies. The position of tho bait ii^ uiarkod by a twig or long stalk of grass i)lanted in the snow above it, which is displaced by the fox if ho digs out tlio seductive morsel. "When tho tr.apper visits his baits, ho is careful not to approach

003

My Iluid o/thf SUcer Fox.

[June,

tlioiii, liut contfiits liiiMself witli (iliservin;; iVoiii a (!ist:incc wliotlicr tlio Kif^iiificdiit ^-ti'iii staiuN tuitli-i- tiirbeil or iml. N\ la-ii a steel trap \* sot, iimriovcr, it r«'nuiivs to lio wut(lif(l (I;iily; for if a f.>x be (Mii^'lit, it is liy till' lore-log as ho eiiutioiisly ^(■I•aIll•s away tlie s^ikiw to get at the liait hnieatli, ami since the trap is mer.-ly altached hy a chain to a huivy lug, he inarehi'S cIl'. <lraf:;;inu' them away with him, until lie is brought up by its becoming entaniikd amongst the fallen trees ami underwood which cover the gr.pund in the ]primeval l'orest>. When the ani- mal discovers that he is unablo to jiroceod liny farther, he commences without any hesitation to amputate the imprisoned limb, and, thus freed from the cli'g, escapes on three legs far out of the reach of t!ie hunter uidess he be iiuit kly fol- lowed up.

Soon at'ter the commence'uent of winter tlm numerous lakes which occur in the forest were firmly frozen over, so that we were able to traverse them as if they had been dry land. These we freipiently sought on our excur- sions, since we were able to march more easily over the smooth ice than if we kept to the w(»ods, where our progress was impeded by tie prostrate trunks which lie undis- turbed where they have fallen for jigcs — tin.ber of every si/.c, in every stage of growth and de- cay, eiitaiigleil in every ]ios«ible combination. On one of ti.e larg- est of tliese lakes, prettily situated in the centre of a cluster of low hills covered with birches and aspens ami tall s!en<Ier firs, wlio-o branche-;, white with hoar- frost and siiow-wreailis, s[iarkled in the bright suidight as if set in diamonds an<l silver, 1 stopped nn instant to admire the strange beauty of the scene; 1 forgot nil about furs and traps for the mo- ment, but my atteiitifiu was speed- ily recalled to the subject by Li Itoiide, who marched ahead if ii'c.

I'ointing to ft neat little footprint impressed distinct and clear, wilh- i ut blur or fatdt, he ninarked, with some excitement, " I'n beau rey- nard. Monsieur; un beau — un noir — noir." There was n^ (h)ubt about it. The delicate impress of the dainty foot told us as jilaiidy as if we had seen the owner of it him- self, that we hud founilonthis wild lake of the wf)ods the haunt of a true silver fox of the finest kind. 1 was highly delighted at the dis- covery i>f the object I had so con- stantly sought, ami I resolved to e.\e)t idl my ingenuity to circum- vent this rare animal, whose cau- tion ami sagacity were on a par with his extreme beauty ami value. " Mais tout a ITieure, Monsieur,'' said J.a Koiule; for the vyeather was not yet severe enotigh to atl'ord us a fair prospect of succeeding, and we deciiled to await a more favour- .'d)lo opportunity. IJct'ore we were alile to carry out our jilaus, how- ever, the stock of i)rovisions at liea(h(i.!irte.'8 fell short, and in order to oscaixj absolute starvation it was imperatively necessary to sec'iM-e a fresh supply as soon as j)ossible. The only place wliere the things we re(inircd coidd bo tibtain- ed was the lied Iliver Settlement, above six hundred miles distant, the intervening country a trackless w ild, ami the snow already two feet deep on the ground. But there was no choice, and I.a Hondo and the other half-breed cheerfully tied on their snow-shoes and set out on their long and liTirns.sing journey. I and my fellow -adventurer were thus left entirely ahuie, a few In- dians being our only society. I secured the services of a little In- dian boy, who accompanied me on my trapping excursions, which I forthwith resumed. My new ju- venile companion, Misiiuajtamayoo, or "The thing one catches a glimpse ot " — for this was his name and its meaning in tiie C'ree language — ))rove(i one of the jolliest, merriest little fellows possible, and as .ictivo and clever oa he was agreeable. ' ilis

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My Hunt of thv Silrcr l'\yx.

698

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largo black oyos, set in a full rouiiil face, twinkloil with fun, ami ho would lio down and liold his sides with l.uif^hter at my very |)()orost jokes with most gratifyin;^ appreeia- tion. Ho possossi'd a slront; sense of the ridiculous, and a very sli^dit mis- take or failure was (piife sutlicicnt to n)use his mirth. As I know but littlo of the Creo language, and the boy nothing of Ktigli^h, puzzles and blunders were freipient. I dis- played, moreover, on somo jioints, an ignorance of woodcrafi wldch to an Indian seemed very alisnrd, and Mis(|uapamnyoo spent a v>Ty merry time on our first excursion together. I{ut although he was thus lively and laughter-loving when tbo oeca-iioii j)ermitted it, such as in Gam|i or in the hut, tbo momont ho slung on bis jiack and placed liis gun on bis shoulder to jjiiot us tiirough tbo woods his manner changed completely. Ho seemed to pass from u child of thirteen to a man on tbo instant. The Indian hunter never lightens tbo tedium of the way by song or whistle, but walks stealthily along without word or sound, lest be should diyturl) tbo game for which bo is unceasingly on the watch. So tbo little Misipia- pamayoo tnarched on in front of me, dignified, grave, and silent, as becaino an Indian hunter, his keen restless eyes .scamiing every mark in tbo enow and noting every broken twig or disi)lacod leaf with as clear an understanding of their significance as I.a Hondo himsolf.

Tbo frost bad continued to in- crease in severity for several weeks after tbe departure of the men ; tbo thermometer went down from 20" to ;}i.>' below zero, tbe lakes were frozen over to the thickness of several feet, and the snow accumu- lated on tbo ground until it was nearly a yard in depth. In order to obtain water wo were compelled to melt ico or snow, which caused tea- making to bo a very slow j)rocess, and a washing-day a vast deal more serious and tedious business than in this country. As we walked

along the im^isturo of our breath froze in parsing through om' beard'', and formed great ma.-SLS of ice, often the size L^i a man's ti-t. on our li|)S and chins. The oil froze in our jii|)es, which r.Mpdred to be thawed l)eforo we could smoke tlicni. Tbo bare liaiul laid njion iron stuck to it as if glued, from the instimtanc- ous freezing <if its moisture. Al- though I wore four flannel shirts, with leather shirt nnd butlido-skin coat over all, bad my feet swathed in bands of thick blanketing, ni.d my bands in enormous lentlier gloves lined with tbo same warm material, my cheeks, ears, and neck being jjrotected by a curtain of fur, wo could only keep warm, in oj)eu ground, unsheltered from tlio wind, by tbo ino^t violent exercise. When re.-ting imder cover of tbo woods, we kept ourselves thawed by tbe aid of a long tire, piled u[) until wo had a great hot wall of blazing trees in front of us. The snow was light and i>owdtry, and did not melt beneath tbe warmth of tbo foot, so that we walkeil dry-shod in our jiervious moccasins; and al- though wo often tumbled in our tmwieldy snow-shoes over the fal- Kn timber treacherously hidden under the deep snow, into which we soused headfirst, wo did not get wet, for the dry bard-frozen powder coidd be shaken off as if it were so much sawdust.

Surely, I thought, tbe time must have come for mo to try for my prize. Tbo nose of a fox even can- not scent danger in such cold, nor bis babitual caution control tbo tierce himger which it creates. Wo therefore turned our stejis towards the haunt of the silver fox, and in two days reached tbo margin of tbo lake. I walked quickly on to tbo wide-stretching ]>lain of ice, nnd looked eagerly round for the littlo footmarks I bad by this time learned to know so well. There they were sure enough, freshly printed the night before, and n\y satisfaction was very great at tbo discovery tb.nt this rare fox still

0U4

My Hunt of the i<ilrtr Fur.

[June,

fro(|ii('iitc(l the loiK'Iy lake. I \n\i\ iiuii('i.Ml, wlii'iiiviT I liail si.'1'ii till' truck lii'fort', tliat it alwuvs tiiivt-rnuil \\w lake ill tlio ^aiiio (lircction, (livfrf.'iiij; troiii tiiiio to liiiu- as tlii' aiiiiii il tiiiiiod a>^i«li' to look al one tir otiur of t!io niiint'roiis Imii.-es of tin.' musk-rats wliicli dottid tin- frozen siiil'aco, the only olijects whidh ri'lieved tlu- utiiforni jiurd whitencs-t of the hare expanse. These lie visited in order to see whether the intnate-i wen- .-till un- a^sailahle in tlieir iec-hoiind domes; hut lie iiivariahly retiirned to tiio old course apiin. 'Iho fox was evidently in the Indiit of retrnhiriy visitinu some imiiit at the farther side of tlio lake, i;iid I now care- fully followed ii|i t!ie trail. As I iicartMl the oi>|)osite shore, I oh- .served a ^reat variety of tracks of dill'erent animals coiiver^inj; to- wards the one I fiUowed. There was the hii;;o [iriiit of the lion-liko foot and claws of the uhiciuitoiis wolverine, placed two and two to- ;,'ether, iis he had passed in the hurry of his invarialde t^.dlop ; tho careless stej) of tlic little wolf, with its scratch of the too in tho li/zlit jiowilery snow; tho soft cat-liko tread of tho lynx; the re;;iihir firmly Fealed mark of tiie ^'reat marten or lisher; and tho clear, sharply cut iiiiprobs of the less hairy foot of the active, cantering; mink, — all tended to the same (piartcr, and it was plain that there was some f^reat at- traction which tliese smaller heasts of jirey were seokiii;; with one ac- cord. The tracks heo«ine more and more minierous, until they were so Mended together in one broad jiatli that it was iinjiossihle to distin- guish one from t!io other, as if a whole army of animals lia<l trooped jilong in a body. The trees on tho vergo of the woods which surroiiuil- cd the lake were here tenanted by a flock of carrion crows, whicli at times flew lazily about, and tiieii settled again on tho brandies, hoarsely croaking, wliilo the little blue and white miig|)ic8 were flut- tering and liopping about in a state

of great excitement. Within a few yards of the shore tho snow was beaten down for a cousiderablo sjiace into a broad road by the iiiul- titiuio of feet, and tlirough the trees wc saw other well frecpieiited patliH coming in from the ojiposite direc- tion. Whero tho ice and land met, i observed, to my surprise, a little ])ool of open water, in which nuiii- berless small whito (dijects seemed in coii-<iant motion, glistening in tho sunshine. (.>n a nearer view, I saw that this was owing to tho jiresence of myriads of small lish, varying in size from that fif a minnow to a gndgetui. They were so closely packed together that they conlil with diflicully move one on the other, and, constantly struggling to get to the surface, ap|ieai'ing like one moving mass of bodies. I bared my arm and plunged it in uji to tlio shoulder, as into a mess of tliick stirabout, and found the same dense collec- tion vif fish, as far as I could reach with my hand, in every part of tho pool. A clear s[)ring bubbled up at one corner; and after much jtuzzling over this curious circum- stance, 1 came to the conclusion that the only reasonable explanation of it \\a<, that the lake being shallow, had frozen to the bottom except in this single place, whither the fish had been gradually driven as tho ice gained ground; and the con- stantly flowing fountain and tho moving bodies preventing the f\)r- mation of ice, ti-'h ha«l thus col- lected in such countless shoals. This was the seer ^t of the concourse of animals which tiuciiod nightly to the spot, to feast, in the season of scarcity, on tho l.enten fare. I now turned back, and in the middle of tho lake, near the nocturnal walk of the silver fox, away from tho tracks of the rest of the four-footed supper-party, set a steel trap, tempt- ingly baited with a jiioee of raw bull'alo - moat, and covered over carefully with snow, its position being marked in the approved man- ner l>y a reed-stalk planted upright

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J/y JIiDit of' the iSili-er For.

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above it. Time after liiiie I visited my tnip, mid I'oiiiid tiiul tlie f<>\ iiad not fiiiled to discover tliat xniie- tliiii^ lo eat wuH liidduii tlure, but lie resolutely abstaiiu'd from niiy ftttem|it to fti)iiro|iriftte it. I'roin llio footmarks which lirckd round and round it at a respectful ♦rHtaiiee, 1 interpreted his (jreat de- sire toonter in ami partake, and the extreme '.'autinn whicli prevented him fiMin yielding to his inclination. At k'liKtli the weather be<«ime utill more severe — the north wind blew Ktroii;;ly, with scathin;; bla>t, nii<l the thermometer went down to ;iti" below zero. A^;ain I visitetl the lake, liopinf? that the e.vtriine cold might have sharpened the I'o.k'h Lunger and destroyed all human taint which might have deliled tlio bait ; but the teli-t.'ilo straw still stood erect, and I found that tho wary silver fo.v had still wan- dered longingly round and round it without yielcllng to the fatal temptation. I was now aiinosk in despair of ever outwitting so cau- tious a qu!i y. I had a last re- source, however, which I resolved to adopt. I had heard from La Roiide that a fox could detect the presence of a steel trap by his keen sen.se of smell, or some inexplicable instinct, and 1 thereupon removed the one that had rested nsdessly liiddoii lV)r so long, and substituted for it a iimst appetising jiieee of meat, in the centre of whicli a small quantity of strychnine was enclosed. The bait being frozen as hard as a piece of stone, and strychnine too being completely inodorous, it seemed imiiossible that my dis- criminating acquuintanoc — for I may cdl him an acquaintiince, since I knew his form an<l habits 80 well, although I had never seen him — should detect anything wr(,.ig ill the savoury mo.sel otl'ered for ]m acceptance. 1 buried it in tho snow, and smootlied tho surface as carefully as before, planting a signiticant straw above it, wliich was visible for a considerable dis- tance in tho pure white expanse.

The snow fill fa^t as we htii-hed our ta~k, and with the aid 'if tl;e north wind, which was now blow- ing tierccly, inu>t K)on have oblit- eralcil all traces of our vi>it. Tho blast seemed to grow colder and colder as we recro^sed the lake, so that before we gained the shelter of the fore-it my fur-protected ears tin;:led with pain, my bare cheeks and ice-covered lips and chin ached airaiii, and my benumiied fingers could with ililliculty retnin their gra-p of my gun. The tall tir-trees groaned and creaked as they bent and recoiled under tho pre-sure ()f the in(rea>iiig wind, and these inoiu'iifwl sounds, together with tho explosions of the trunks crack- ing and splintering from the in- tense froflt, res(jun<led through tho ilesolate woods. Not a sign of life greeted lis; for tiie rabbit was cowering in his haunt under the fallen timber ; the bear hugged himself more closely in his wintry cave as he heard the roaring of tho stoi'iii without;', tho willow-grou.^o sheltered with ruflied feathers, hid- den in the thick underwood; and even the lively squirrel, who seldom found it tiKi cold to come out, re- solutely remained in his warm hole, and refused to cheer us with his ideasant chatter. Tho only animal which still Went abroad was a rare marten or fisher, roaming about to aiijieaso his sharpened hunger; but they passed within a yard of the traps, regardless of attractions iisunlly irresistible, not because they had any new fear of treachery, but because scent was destroyed, and they could not iiercoivo the liroximity of the bait. The masses of snow collected on the broad flat branches of the tir-trees. dislodired by iho wind, showered down upon our heads; dead twigs and branches, snajiped olV by tho violent air, jielted us; and every now and then some lingo dead and withered tree, which, thouj^'h dry and half-rotten, had long withstood the assaults of time ami wild weather, overcome at last by the tempest, came thundering

»ou

My J/iiiit o/ the Hilver Fvr,

[June,

down witli II iiiijiity (TjImIi rliKsu by, niid tlireati'iioil to tTiisli lis in itx fall. 'I'lii! Miowl'iill from tlio skicn,

Iliudo tllMIMT h\ til) IllllH?il.'.1 wliirli

tiiinliled from tlio trt'os, and iii- cri'fisod yi't moio l>y tlio cIoikIh wliiili'd up from tlu' (,'roiiiid by Ilio circliiif; iMirroiits, liliiidcd us so tlint wo Ntiimbk'd aiul foil coiitiiiuiilly ovor tlio fallen timber wliicli boset tlio way, and woarit'd tis witli fri.'- • piout >lioclv<. 'I'lio Jiatli wb.i'li ',v») had iiiado on onr outward Jour- iiuy, broadly and doi'iily p'oiifibcd tbou^rli it was witli Hiiow-sboes, bi- ciiniu piiiifuse'd and uncertain, and at lent;tli complci-v'./ drifted over and nijdistiiSf,'nisbablo f.-oin tlic rest of the snow-covered j,'rou:id, wlioso uniformity was only varied by tlio slit,'lit diti'ereneo la tlie ])atclies of shrubs or tlio arrani^ement of trees. To retnice our steps was our only means i'f liudin^ tiio way ba<'k, siiico the Hun was hidden, and wo liad no otlier compass by which to steer. IVlted by branches, buffeted by the wind, blinded by tlio ilriv- in;; clouds of snow, benninbed by the cold, and bewildered by tlio disturbanco of our srMiscs, the ob- literation of tho track, and the ab- Hcnco of tho (guiding s'ln, even tho bravo littlo .Mis(iua|)ainttyoo, who led the way, was compoUod to ex- claim at hist, ''Osliarni aimon," — " It is too hard," — and sufr^rost that wo should cuiip ft)r tho night, triist- ini^tohavo clearer weather to-mor- row. 1 was oidy too glad to agree to ft course which 1 liad been too ])roud to propose to tho boy, and wo thankfully throw off our packs in a bheltercd liollow, protected from tho ho?-tilo north by thickly- growing trees and underwood, and with a good supply of dry trunks liard by. ]t was with great ditli- culty that we lighted a fire, for flint and steel fell repeatedly from our ])alsled fingers, incapaide of fooling them, and almost powerlc»w to grasp them ; but in spito of nniiiy fruitless attemiits wo persevered, knowing well that faduro meant death. Tho welcome sparks struck

by our shaking hands at last caught the ready tinder, iiiid a wisp of dry gra-^s and birch-bark was fainiod into llaiiie by spasmodic puffs from our cidd-strickeii lii>s, as wo knelt side by side, eager and intent over the hopeful glow. Chips r ' rosin- ous pine fed tlie tiny lire, on which we proceeded cnntiously to place a \'\;\v tiry brunciiv , and then, as tho bbizo grew stronger, added larger and larger boughs, until with great dead trunks of trees wo made a huge bonlire, from which wedrevv warmth ami life. When wo liad somewhat recovered, wo diligently molted Hiiow in our kettle, and before long one of tho most grateful cups, or rather mngs. of tea which I over drank, restored mo to a contented frame of mind ; Mien to Ho down on a bed »)f springy iiine-bouglm seemed to complete my liappinoss for the niomeni. IVaco and rest lasted btit for n short time, liow- evor. Wo had but three blankets between us, and ono of them wo spread on our evergreen couch t" lie upon; and though tho boy and 1 clung together, full clothed as we were covered by tho other two, with our foot doso to tho roar- ing lire, the relentless wind found us out, and pierced through tho pervious coverlets as if they had l)een gauze. Tho tired boy slept on. but 1, less hardy, soon trembled and shook with cold, and finding sleep impossible, crept awny from my compunioii and cowered over the fire, nodding as I sat in the fast-falling snow. From time to time 1 awoke from my doze, with .idling limbs, as the fire waxed low, and jumped \\\i to heap on frosh logs, and then resumed my weary watch. The dark and stormy night seemed inoloiiged to twice tho usual number of hours, for I could but guess tho time as 1 had no watch, and the stars were not vis- ible in the clouded heavens. J)ay- break— " keckseep," as it is poeti- ciilly named by tho Indians, or " the time wlien tho birds begin to chirp" — appeared at \i\ni iiowind

If'fl'!

Mij Hunt of the SUn >• For.

007

■ A

went down, nml lieforu lon^ tliu sun rose in n cU'iir >ky. I uoko Mi-iiim|iiiiimy<)i>, uiid al'tiT ii Imsty hri'iikt'ii-it wo ciMiiiiK-iici'd ti) si-arcli for tlio lip><t triu'k, wlii<!i wo evciit- iiidly MiiccccdiMl ill discoviTinjr, mid rtaclmd tlio Int tlio foilowiiif; cvon- iiiK'. I5ut uij return to week tlio silver fox was del.iyod liy more iir^'oiit and important luisiness. 'I'lio Indians nronnil ns wito starv- ing;, ami our Huanty reserve of poni- micaii was soon exhansted in tlieir relief.

riie men wo hud sent for provi- sions could not possibly ac(^oni]>lipli ilieir lianljonniey of twelve Imndred miles lliro;ij,'li tlio i<iiow, wiMi heavy- loaded slodj,'es, in leis than threo iiioiitlis, and not one had yet elapsed since their departure. It wart imperatively necessary to oh- t lin meat at once, and wo were oliliyed to j;ivo np trappiiij; for furs lor the time, and take to hnnt- \i\>^ for our subsistence. Althon^fh mooso Were to bo found in tlic iiei^hl»unring woods, our need was so urgent and iinmediate we ilared not trust to the chance of killiii)? t iiein ; for of all animals the mooso is the most wary, and can only bo approached by the most skilful hunter, except at certain sciiHons, under jieculiarly favourable circum- stantH's. AVo turned our faces, there- fore, towards the great plains, about .•I hiimlrtd miles away, on tho skirts of which, where ]irairios ami wood- land meet and form a beautiful park-like country, wo hoped to find bands of bull'alo. These animals, contrary to the usual practice, mi- grate northward in the winter, leaving tho open prairie of tho south for tho protecting woods and sheltered valleys of tho mix- ed country, and even at times jienetrating far into the great ior^st itseif. It is not necessary t) relate how wc sought, with much toil and sutVering, tho game which could save us from starv- ation. liullVdo were exceedingly scarce, liaving been driven south- wards by the Indians ; but we man-

VOL. CI. — NO. IJCXX.

aged to secure a {\!W of the slrug- lers left behind by the main body. I'amislied Indians, less fortunate than ns, with their |iatient sipiaws and gaunt and hnngry childn n, trrowded to us, looking with longing eyes at tho meat rtiiich they were too proud to ask Itir, although they had oaten but little for wei'ks, and fiisted totally for neveral days. Thill skcH 1 dogs, so wonderfully thin that \: jcnied hardly possible for lil'o to reiiain in tho framework of skin and bone, or motion be consMi at wi.li such an absence of muscle, came to tc 1-.I on the otlal ; and packs ot hungry wolves hover- ed round us. waitiii!,' to pick the aiiandoiied carcasses, serenading us withamoiuing and evening chorus of dismal howl-.

When we returned to the hut, tho supjily of food we brc'i|,ht with ns was speedily consumed by the help of voracious Indian fricmls, and again we had to renew our hunt tor provisions. After a time we stored up sutlicieiit to allow of our devoting a week to our tnips ai;ain. 'I'he weather had become oven colder than before — the tiierinomeler went down to — .'{8"; and it w;is iiardly jioNsiltle to induce tho Indians to leave their lodges and face the bitter, beiiuinb- ing, nntempting ftir of the open gri)un<l. My faithful little ally. MisipiapauLayoo, however, cheer- fully responded to my invitation to visit tlie ]>oisoned bait, and we started on our way to the forest hike. The ■ frost abated slightly, the sky was clear, and the sun sJKMie brightly during the short day, although its rays yielded no l)erceptiblo warmth, and we tra- velloil along cheerily. The animals were abro.id again, and the woods less silent and deserted than in the terrilde storm which battered ns so unmercifully on our return from tho former expedition. That arch- burglar, the wolverine, liad broken into all tho marten traps, and either devoured tho baits, or, where an animal had been caught, had

2 /.

098

My Unnt of the Silver Fox.

[June,

abstracted it, torn it to ]iicocs, and lialf eaten it, and hid t!io scanty remains in tiie bnslies. AVc found little but the tails of the victims, and a tew scattered tufts of the fnr wliich I had destined for en- during service. Yet as tlie severity of tlie cold had been sufficient to ih'ive the wolverine to eat martens, whicli he devours only under dire extremity — for the more savoury baits are what lie generally con- tents himself witii, although he wantonly destroys in liis malice tlie animals which he finds in the traps — 1 had good hopes that the same lu'gent liunger might over- come the scrupulous caution of the fox, and betray iiim into the indis- cretion of tasting tlio deadly morsel I had i)rei)ared fi)r him. Three days brought us to the margin of the lake, and I eagerly scanned the broad expanse for the dark object I fondly believed I might see lying there, conspicuous in its contrast to the pure white plain of ice. As Ave began to draw near the centre of the lake, I detected a black spot about the very point where J liad placed tiie snare. It wa-, however, more undefined and irregular than it would have ap- peared if merely the body of the fox, and I hastened on, troubled with grievous doubts whether I had succeeded after all. As I drew near, my inisgivings increased ; the one black spot which I had seen at first appeared less and less like the form of an animal, an indistinct conglomeration of dark patches, some of which seemed to bo mov- ing. I ran quickly to the place, eager to solve the mystery, h.ilf hoping I might have killed a'whole family of black foxes, forgetting

in my excitement that T liad set but a single bait. I could see that tlie single straw was down, and the snow scratched up where it liad been ])lanted ; a pair of carrion crows Happed u]) from the dead body with an angry croak, and I found that it was indeed a match- less silver fox — "nn beau I'eynard, iioir. noir." as La Ronde had pro- jihesied — not whole and perfect, but a lialf-eateu and mangled carcass. The eyes were picked out, the beau- tiful coat torn to pieces, and frag- ments of the rich gray fur lying scattered around. The ill-omened birds, -which liad gathered together to feast on the shoals of fish hemmed in by the ice in the little pool at the end of the lake, had served mo an evil turn. i[y return had been too long delayed ; the pool had become frozen b}- the extreme cold, and the ruthless fish-eaters had aii[ieased their hunger by the costly meal which the b^dy of my victim liad supplied them. My dis,appointinent and chagrin were unbounded at the provoking result of all the ingenuity and toil with which I had laboured to secure the great prize — nay, my devices had better have failed altogether to deceive the ill-fated animal, and I felt unfeigned regret at the useless destruction of the dainty fox. The sym]ialliising Misquapamayoo, who had entered into my plans with all the ardour of an Indian hunter, joined heartily with me in anathe- matising the vi'" birds to whose un- scrupulous appetites we owed our loss. My only chance of ob- taining the skin of a silver fox was gone f^or the season, and we plodded our way Imme to the hut disgusted and disconsolate.

"W. 13. CnKADLK.

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